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Logo of the Desert Research Institute

The Desert Research Institute (DRI) is the nonprofit research campus of the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE), the organization that oversees all publicly-supported higher education in the U.S. state of Nevada. At DRI, more than 500 research faculty and support staff engage in environmental research each year; there are currently more than 300 active research projects.

History

In 1959, the Nevada State Legislature passed NRS396.795, creating a division of the University of Nevada specifically devoted to conducting research.

DRI became an autonomous division of the University of Nevada System (now called the Nevada System of Higher Education), on equal footing with its two educational campuses, in 1969. Before that, it functioned as a research division of what is now the system's northern university campus (the University of Nevada, Reno).

Structure

DRI's environmental research programs are divided into three core divisions:

• the Division of Atmospheric Sciences, which studies meteorology, atmospheric science, and pollution.
• the Division of Earth and Ecosystem Sciences, which studies terrain changes, soils, and archaeology.
• the Division of Hydrologic Sciences, which studies water resources.

and four interdisciplinary centers:

• the Center for International Water and Sustainability
• the Center for Arid Lands Environmental Management
• the Center for Environmental Remediation and Monitoring
• the Center for Advanced Visualization, Computation and Modeling

The Division of Atmospheric Sciences

The Division of Atmospheric Sciences (DAS) conducts fundamental and applied research into the natural atmosphere and local and regional studies of air quality.

Currently the division consists of 53 research Faculty, 7 professional admin staff, 8 post-docs, 33 students, 24 technologists, and 21 hourly employees. Fifty employees hold Ph.D. or Sc.D. degrees. The total annual research expenditures is approximately $14.5M. Fifty-two percent of this funding comes directly from the federal government; they also receive significant research funding from state and local governments, private organizations, and foreign governments.

DAS conducts research in Nevada and around the world in response to the needs of public and private organizations. Areas of expertise include field study design and coordination, ambient air quality monitoring for criteria and toxic pollutants, pollutant emissions characterization, basic meteorological measurements, aerosol, clouds and precipitation measurements, numerical modeling, satellite meteorology, weather modification, climate information services, wildfire applications, and renewable energy. In addition, DAS faculty are primarily responsible for teaching and administering the Atmospheric Sciences Graduate Program at UNR.

The Division specializes in the development of instrumentation and techniques for ground-based, aircraft and satellite observational programs. The research programs are supported by two state-of-the-art analytical labs: The Environmental Analysis Facility and the Organic Analytical Laboratory. These laboratories provide trace analysis of atmospheric pollutants, supporting assessments of human impacts on air quality.

DAS has extensive capabilities in numerical modeling of atmospheric and air pollution processes.

The Division is home of the Western Regional Climate Center, one of six National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration-supported regional centers that comprise a climate-services network serving the entire United States. The Climate Center provides data and information products tailored to the individual needs of a wide variety of federal agencies, regional organizations, state and local bodies, and the private sector.

The Division of Earth and Ecosystem Sciences

The Division of Earth and Ecosystem Sciences conducts research on how Earth's landscapes have changed and will change in the future. DEES research also examines the impact of these changes on plants and animals, and how human societies have responded to these changes.

The division includes faculty drawn from the disciplines of archaeology, biology, geosciences, renewable energy and climate change. Expertise in archaeology is focused largely on heritage management, the prehistory of the western U.S., human adaptation to arid lands, and Cold War archaeology and historic preservation.

The Division of Hydrologic Sciences

The mission of the DHS is "to improve society's fundamental knowledge and understanding of hydrologic systems and to encourage more effective and efficient management of water resources".

The focus is on the following:

• Aquatic biology/chemistry
• Ecological engineering
• Environmental processes within snow and ice (including ice core sampling and testing)
• Regional groundwater hydrology and hydraulics  
• Surface and subsurface flow and contaminant transport  
• Watershed hydrology

Center for International Water and Sustainability

The Center for International Water and Sustainability (initially the Center for Watersheds and Environmental Sustainability) was created in 1999 as part of the Desert Research Institute's approach to interdisciplinary research. "The purpose of this focused International Water, Development and Global Sustainability center within the Desert Research Institute (DRI) is to address gaps in knowledge, research, and human resource capacity that persist in developing countries and assist in reducing health related issues and design of sustainable water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) programs." Specific goals include:

• Develop integrated watershed science based tools to facilitate informed decision making for sustainable management of watersheds. This includes the ongoing monitoring of the Lake Tahoe watershed as part of the effort to keep the lake's water clear. They work with and advise the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency to help maintain the state of the lake and the health of the watershed.
• Develop interdisciplinary research programs to advance the understanding of watershed processes. As an example, the research into the Walker Lake (Nevada) watershed is helping with decisions on restoration efforts for Walker Lake and the Walker River, including the possible acquisition or leasing of water rights in the watershed.
• Develop new DRI research programs in watersheds where DRI researchers are not currently active or have limited research projects, such as the Colorado River and Carson River watersheds. This goal also includes developing research in watersheds outside of the western United States, such as in West Africa.
• Develop research and teaching partnerships with institutions external to DRI. For example, conducting research with University of Nevada, Reno and University of California, Davis faculty on collaborative projects and teaching courses at the University of Nevada, Reno and Sierra Nevada College.

Center for Arid Lands Environmental Management

The Center for Arid Lands Environmental Management (CALEM) was founded in 1999 as part of a reorganization of DRI's approach to interdisciplinary research. CALEM promotes and develops interdisciplinary or integrated science to understand all aspects of arid lands environments and to provide decision makers and land managers with relevant policy-neutral information on which to base their decisions.

The goals of the Center are to develop:

• interdisciplinary research programs and projects that address key issues of environmental concern in arid lands;
• a greater awareness of arid lands issues and problems; and
• stronger collaborations and strategic partnerships between institutions and stakeholders in arid lands.

CALEM has identified the following interdisciplinary research focal areas that represent aspects of pressing environmental concern in arid regions:

• Effects of global climate change on drylands
• Human interactions with the dryland environment
• Biodiversity and stewardship in drylands

Center for Environmental Remediation and Monitoring

Founded in 2003, the Frank H. Rogers Center for Environmental Remediation and Monitoring (CERM) was established to promote and develop interdisciplinary research; specifically, to further research that DRI has conducted for the U.S. Department of Energy. The center was established thanks to a gift to DRI in honor of Frank H. Rogers, the first chief operating officer of the Nevada Test Site.

Research Focus Areas:

• Addressing risks and potential human health impacts associated with environmental contaminants, constituents, and conditions.
• Developing novel methods and strategies for environmental remediation, monitoring, or restoration of contaminated sites or natural resources.
• Long-term stewardship or legacy management where contamination is left in place or is not feasible to fully remediate; or for sites where waste is disposed.
• Involving stakeholders in environmental management, including data collection, interpretation, and decision making.
• Using DRI expertise in environmental measurements, monitoring, and modeling in new areas such as non-proliferation, public safety and emergency response.

Center for Advanced Visualization, Computation and Modeling

The Center for Advanced Visualization, Computation and Modeling (CAVCaM) is an interdisciplinary center dedicated to using the latest computer visualization technology to help DRI's researchers with their projects. The centerpiece of the Center's work is a 4-wall CAVE (Cave Automatic Virtual Environment) with which they show 3-dimensional views and simulations, including simulations of wildfires.

The Center was first approved by the Board of Regents in December 2005, and opened in October 2007.

Research Campuses

The northern campus of the Desert Research Institute, in the hills north of Reno, Nevada

DRI includes two main research campuses in Reno and Las Vegas, Nevada, and two subsidiary campuses in Boulder City, Nevada and Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

• Dandini Research Park is just north of Reno, Nevada,
• Southern Nevada Science Park, Las Vegas, Nevada
• Solar One, Boulder City, Nevada
• Storm Peak Laboratory, Steamboat Springs, Colorado

See also

• Environmental Science

Atmospheric Sciences

• Atmosphere
• Atmospheric dispersion modeling
• Compilation of air dispersion models
• Air pollution dispersion terminology

Earth and Ecosystem Sciences

• Earthquakes
• Erosion
• Soil

Hydrologic Sciences

• Aquifer
• Hydrological transport model

External links

• Desert Research Institute home page

Footnotes

This is a 'first draft' of a potential new article for "Desert Research Institute". I do work there, but I am trying to keep a neutral facts-only tone. Note that this is far from complete... --Kwd